A crisp, investor‑tested deck outline with stage‑specific guidance and Beancount‑powered metrics.

How to use this template​

• Keep it to ~10 slides. Speak for ~20 minutes. Use ≥30pt fonts. (Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30). (Guy Kawasaki)
• Prefer one message per slide. Pictures > paragraphs. Data > adjectives.
• If you must exceed 10, add slides to the appendix—not the core flow.
• Anchor claims to verifiable numbers. Use your ledger (Beancount/Fava) as the single source of truth. (beancount.io)

Core 10‑slide deck

You can duplicate these section headers directly into Slides/Keynote. Replace bracketed text.

1) Cover​

• Goal: Name, one‑liner, and immediate credibility.
• Show: [Company Name] — [Crisp one‑line value] • Logo • Contact • If available: topline traction (e.g., “$[MRR], [growth]% MoM”).
• Proof: 1–2 logos (customers/partners) if meaningful.

2) Problem​

• Goal: Make the pain concrete and costly.
• Show: Who hurts, how often, how much it costs today. Short story + data.
• Proof: Screenshots of bad workflows • quotes • benchmarks.

3) Solution / Product​

• Goal: Show the “after” is 10× better.
• Show: 2–3 visuals (flow, demo stills). What’s uniquely different.
• Proof: Live demo or GIF; early metrics (time saved, accuracy, conversion).

4) Why Now​

• Goal: Timing unlocks the opportunity.
• Show: New platform shifts, regulation, AI/model breakthroughs, distribution changes.
• Proof: Trend lines or discrete triggers (APIs, costs, policy).
• Reference: “Why Now” is a standard slide in Sequoia‑style structures. (Sequoia Capital, UVic.ca, Storydoc: Present. Engage. Win.)

5) Market​

• Goal: Ambition and focus.
• Show: Defined ICP, bottoms‑up SAM with assumptions, credible path to TAM.
• Proof: Unit economics and adoption logic; not just a big number.

6) Business Model​

• Goal: How you make money.
• Show: Pricing, ACV/ARPU, payback, margin drivers.
• Proof: Early cohort behavior, willingness‑to‑pay evidence.

7) Go‑to‑Market​

• Goal: Repeatable way to reach ICP.
• Show: Channels, motion (PLG/SLG/partner), sales stages, cycle length.
• Proof: Pipeline snapshots, conversion rates, live experiments.

8) Traction​

• Goal: Momentum and retention.
• Show: MRR/ARR, growth, DAU/WAU/MAU (if consumer), NRR/GRR (if B2B), expansion.
• Proof: Cohort curves, logos, case study with before/after metrics.

9) Competition & Moat​

• Goal: Why you win.
• Show: Alternatives customers actually use, your wedge, defensibility (data, workflow lock‑in, network effects, cost position).
• Proof: Head‑to‑head wins, switching costs, proprietary data.

10) Team​

• Goal: Credibility to execute.
• Show: 3–5 bios with relevant wins; advisors only if truly engaged.
• Proof: Prior exits, shipped systems at scale, domain insights.

If you need room for “Financials & Ask,” fold them into Traction (metrics) and your final verbal close (ask + use of funds). The 10‑slide constraint is a best practice; Sequoia/YC templates commonly fit within this skeleton. (Y Combinator, Sequoia Capital)

Optional slides (appendix)

• Financials & Forecast: 12–24 month P&L, cash runway, hiring plan, scenario ranges (base/bear/bull).
• Roadmap: What unlocks the next 12 months (customers, features, compliance).
• Security/Compliance: If selling to regulated industries.
• Technology deep‑dive: Architecture, IP position.
• Case studies: Before/after ROI with one named customer.

Stage‑by‑stage emphasis

• Pre‑seed

  • Focus: Insight, team, why now, first design partners.
  • Metrics: Time‑to‑value in pilots, early pipeline velocity.
  • Ask: “$[X] for [18] months to reach [MMR target / GA].”

• Seed

  • Focus: Early product–market signal, repeatable GTM experiments.
  • Metrics: MRR/ARR trend, NRR signals from beta cohorts, CAC test results.
  • Ask: “$[X] to prove repeatability: hire [roles], reach [NRR/ACV targets].”
  • Reference: YC’s seed deck guidance aligns with this emphasis. (Y Combinator)

• Series A

  • Focus: Repeatability and unit economics.
  • Metrics: NRR ≥ 100–120% (B2B), payback ≤ 12–18 months, gross margin fit.
  • Reference: YC’s Series A deck notes problem clarity, today’s workaround, and specific solution fit. (Y Combinator)

Model‑specific checklists (pick what fits)

• B2B SaaS

  • Show ICP, ACV, sales cycle, NRR/GRR, logo expansion, top 3 use cases.
  • Include live screenshots of admin + end‑user workflows.

• Consumer / Prosumer

  • Show activation funnel, DAU/WAU/MAU, 4‑week retention, referral/virality mechanics.
  • Unit economics: LTV/CAC with sensitivity.

• Marketplaces

  • Show liquidity (time‑to‑match), take rate, repeat usage, geographic or category density.
  • Cold‑start strategy and supply acquisition.

• AI / Agent / Infra

  • Show measurable gains (accuracy, latency, cost per task), eval setup, data advantage.
  • If infra: attach a simple TCO comparison and reliability SLOs.
  • Recent AI seed decks often win with concrete throughput/quality gains plus early revenue proof. (Business Insider)

• Fintech / Web3

  • Show compliance posture, risk controls, reconciliation accuracy, custody/TVL (if on‑chain).
  • If tokens exist, keep them out of the core narrative unless essential to product value.

Beancount tips: pull real metrics into your deck

Use your ledger as the source of truth for revenue/expense metrics; run BQL (Beancount Query Language) or Fava queries and paste charts/screens. (beancount.io)

• MRR / ARR

  • Tag invoices or receipts for subscription revenue under Income:Subscriptions.
  • Example idea: SELECT month, SUM(position) WHERE account ~ "^Income:Subscriptions" GROUP BY month to chart MRR (adapt for your charting tool).

• Gross Margin

  • Model COGS as Expenses:COGS:*. Use a P&L view to compute (Income – COGS) / Income.

• Cash Runway

  • Use balance sheet cash accounts and average monthly burn from the income statement templates. (beancount.io)

• Cohorts

  • Export customer‑tagged postings and analyze retention externally; keep the source file auditable.

Design rules & presenter notes

• Big fonts, high contrast, minimal text (10/20/30). (Guy Kawasaki)
• One chart per slide; label axes; annotate the “so what.”
• Open and close with your one‑liner and ask.
• If time is short, use the 5‑slide email deck: Cover • Problem • Solution • Traction • Ask (with 1 KPI chart).

Common pitfalls to avoid

• Laundry‑list features without a wedge or POV.
• TAM theater (top‑down only; no bottoms‑up).
• “No competitors.” Investors won’t believe it.
• Hidden risks (compliance, data rights) left unexplained.
• Too many appendices in the core flow.

The Ask (template to copy)

• Raising: $[X] at [SAFE/price].
• Use of funds (12–18 months): [Product milestones] • [GTM hires] • [Compliance/Sec].
• Milestones for next round: [ARR target] • [NRR/payback] • [Logo count] • [Gross margin].

Copy‑paste deck skeleton

# Slide 1 — Cover
[Company] — [one-liner]. [Contact]. [Optional: traction teaser].

# Slide 2 — Problem
[Who] faces [pain] costing [$$/time]. Current workaround: [X] with [drawbacks].

# Slide 3 — Solution / Product
[How it works in 1–2 visuals]. 10× vs status quo on [metric].

# Slide 4 — Why Now
[Trend/reg change/platform shift] makes this possible. [Unique insight/advantage].

# Slide 5 — Market
ICP: [role/company]. SAM (bottoms-up): [#customers × ARPU]. Path to TAM: [angle].

# Slide 6 — Business Model
Pricing: [model]. ACV/ARPU: [$$]. Margins: [%%]. Payback: [months].

# Slide 7 — Go-to-Market
Motion: [PLG/SLG/partner]. Channels: [A/B]. Pipeline: [stages, cycle length].

# Slide 8 — Traction
MRR/ARR: [$], MoM: [%]. NRR/GRR: [%]. Logos: [N]. Case study: [before/after KPI].

# Slide 9 — Competition & Moat
Alternatives: [A/B/C]. We win because [wedge]. Defensibility: [data/workflow/economics].

# Slide 10 — Team
[3–5 bios with relevant wins]. Advisors (active): [if any].

# Appendix — Financials, Roadmap, Security, Tech deep-dive, Case studies.
# Close verbally with The Ask (amount, use of funds, milestones).

References & further reading

• Sequoia’s classic deck structure (company purpose, problem, solution, why now, market size, product, business model, competition, team, financials). (Sequoia Capital, UVic.ca, Storydoc: Present. Engage. Win.)
• YC on building seed & Series A decks. (Y Combinator)
• 10/20/30 rule for clear, fast decks. (Guy Kawasaki)
• Beancount Query Language (SQL‑like queries for real metrics). (beancount.io)
• Financial reporting templates (Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow) to ground your numbers. (beancount.io)

Pro tip: Practice until you can deliver the deck in 8–10 minutes. If an investor interrupts, you’re still on track.